Jews in the News: Otherness and Selfhood in the London Gazette

The Program in Judaic Studies invites you to join us on Monday, November 3, for this talk by David Sclar.

Abstract
This paper examines the London Gazette as a largely overlooked source for understanding Anglo-Jewish history. While the Gazette functioned primarily as the Crown’s mouthpiece, its sporadic yet vivid references to Jews reveal broader cultural perceptions in early modern England. Reports framed Jews alternately as delusional, deceitful, and pitiful, but also economically useful, reflecting both medieval stereotypes and emerging modern realities. Analyzing these portrayals in the wider context of English imperial ambitions and anti-Turkish and anti-Catholic sentiment, this study explores the place of Jews in a modernizing English imagination and how newly English Jews navigated simultaneous marginalization and integration.

All are welcome to attend, but space is limited – please RSVP to judaic@princeton.edu. Refreshments will be available.

More about David Sclar

David Sclar studies Jewish history and culture in the early modern period. He has published on book history, Amsterdam’s Sephardic community, and the kabbalist Moses Hayim Luzzato. He recently curated the exhibition “The Golden Path: Maimonides Across Eight Centuries” at the Yeshiva University Museum, and is the author/editor of a volume of the same name.